Results 1 to 17 of 17

Thread: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

  1. #1
    BrunetteGoddess
    Guest

    Default No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    I bank with Chase. I've been with them for about 6 months and I'm very satisfied with them. Unfortunately there are no Chase branches in my new town

    Should I keep my Chase account open and open a second account at one of the places here or should I close the Chase account? I'd really like to keep it.

    Also I'd like to know experiences/opinions on the banks/CUs I have here to see who I should pick:

    Bank of America
    Washington Mutual
    Westamerica Bank
    Savings Bank of Mendocino County
    Umpqua Bank
    Mendo Lake Credit Union
    Wells Fargo

  2. #2
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    I wouldn't trust Bank of America with a nickel in California ... they are the underwriters of 'illegal alien' credit cards !

    WaMu has been on the rumors list for impending financial troubles for a while now

    Wells Fargo is also hurting in California, due to the loss of profits from reduced 'remittances' to Mexico by illegal aliens stemming from the real estate construction collapse in California in particular.

    The regional banks I don't know enough about to even guess

    ... which leaves the Credit Union you mentioned as the most likely candidate !

  3. #3
    BrunetteGoddess
    Guest

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    Wow, I am surprised about WF. I didn't know they were doing so badly here.

    What are the key differences between a bank and a CU?

  4. #4
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    for the record, Wells Fargo probably isn't anywhere near as 'shaky' as WaMu, Countrywide etc. because they don't have as much exposure to 'subprime' loan defaults. Wells Fargo's problem is that a major chunk of their profits in past years came from transferring money ... and fewer jobs for illegal immigrants means much lower levels of money transfers back to Mexico. However, this probably means that Wells Fargo stockholders are pressuring management to restore profitability, which will translate into increased fees, increased interest rate spreads etc. for their remaining customers.

    as to the essential differences between banks and credit unions, the major one is 'where the profits go'.



    In general, banks must pay a portion of their profits to stockholders. In general, credit unions can pay a portion of those same profits back to members / depositors / borrowers in the form of smaller interest rate spreads.

    However, in general, banks have much larger financial assets behind them and are diversified in terms of regional economies, which provides an extra measure of security should a real live depression ever take place. Credit unions in general are much smaller, and are also non-diversified regionally, thus could be headed for serious trouble if a real live depression ever takes place. This is particularly the case when a credit union is tied to the employees of a particular corporation or to the employees of a particular gov't agency, where a cutback at that corporation or gov't agency could instantly cause a high percentage of credit union members to lose their jobs thus falling behind in mortgage / car loan / credit card payments to that credit union.

  5. #5
    God/dess
    Joined
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Temporary Lurkmode...
    Posts
    12,609
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 79 Times in 35 Posts

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    I have Bofa and have had Wamu. I hated wamu so many rules and not enough branches near by. The whole bofa credit card thing I'm not sure what to think of next.
    you live like an ivy vine
    you can only survive by clinging onto trees
    that's your flaw
    put down some roots so you can stand on your own
    -Kenpachi



  6. #6
    God/dess kitty260's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Winterpeg, Manitoba
    Posts
    2,042
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    Ugh, Bank of America. At my last job I spent a lot of time on the phone with US banks and BOA scared the hell out of me. Never ONCE did they ask me to identify myself or tell them why I was calling. All I had to do was give them the name and SSN of someone and they'd tell me anything I wanted to know about their account; what type it was, the balance, they'd even read the account numbers to me over the phone. And this wasn't limited to any particular state. I'm sure I've spoken to at least one branch in every state and the security is shit at all of them. Word of advice.

    Wells Fargo was the complete opposite. Washington Mutual was pretty good for security too. I know it's not really what you were asking, but I figured it's my good samaritan duty to reveal BOA for the unprofessional morons they really are. Your info is NOT safe with those clowns.
    \

  7. #7
    God/dess
    Joined
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    5,170
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 16 Times in 11 Posts

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    ^YIKES! Thanks for that info on BOA! I was seriously considering opening an account with them! Maybe I'll go with Chase instead...



  8. #8
    God/dess kitty260's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Winterpeg, Manitoba
    Posts
    2,042
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    ^^^Yep, its true! After dealing with every major bank and a lot of credit unions in just about every state, Bank of America was by far the most lax with their security. I was the most impressed by Wells Fargo because their security was so tight. Pain in the ass for me to find out what I needed to know from them, but it taught me that they'd be #1 on my US bank list (should I ever need to open a US account.) Washington Mutual was really good too. It's possible that I've dealt with the credit unions on that list too but I don't really remember them. It's just the major banks that I called a dozen times a day that I remember.
    \

  9. #9
    Yekhefah
    Guest

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    B of A is a completely vile corporation. I have a personal loan with them and they have put me through no end of grief. I hate them so very much.

    My checking account and auto loan are with Washington Mutual and I've been very happy with them. I get good service and haven't had any problems at all in three years. My checking is free (with free checks too). K is with Wells Fargo and they're not good to him at all - they hold his deposits for a couple of days minimum, and charge him enormous per-day overdraft fees if the balance ever dips below $0. He has to pay for his checks and the customer service there isn't anywhere near as good. I don't know why he stays with them, to be honest.

  10. #10
    God/dess
    Joined
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    5,170
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 16 Times in 11 Posts

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    Time to do some bank research...



  11. #11
    God/dess kitty260's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Winterpeg, Manitoba
    Posts
    2,042
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    Oh! Yeah, Chase was really good too. Their security is tight like Wells Fargo. Wachovia is a bit lax, Citibank seemed to depend on what branch I called...some staff were dumber then other.

    Charter One, Compass, and Suntrust all hovered in the mid-range. It was sort of hit or miss for how easily I could get information out of them. Again, it depended on the branch.
    \

  12. #12
    AudreyLeigh
    Guest

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    I personally Hate Hate Hate Bank of America. They screwed me. They also screwed my guy:

    My boyfriend had an account there. Thought he closed it.
    Got another account there maybe a year later.
    FIVE years after that a $7 collection shows up on CR. WTF?

    They cant check ss and see that he had 2 accounts? They had NO WAY to contact him? Then he tried to fight them about it and they wouldnt budge. Jerks.

    Ive had many problems with them.

    I have an account with USBank and love it. I also have Wells Fargo and not only do I really like this bank they have the easiest bill pay ever. Love it.

  13. #13
    God/dess
    Joined
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    5,170
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 16 Times in 11 Posts

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    Quote Originally Posted by kitty260 View Post
    Wachovia is a bit lax
    Lax? As in relaxed?

    Anyone else have any info on Wachovia? I'm thinking about going with them...



  14. #14
    BrunetteGoddess
    Guest

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    I was thinking of updating this thread. I ended up going with WF. Thanks for y'alls help.

    Mily:

    Maybe start a new thread to get people's attention since this one is older?

  15. #15
    God/dess kitty260's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Winterpeg, Manitoba
    Posts
    2,042
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    Quote Originally Posted by Mily View Post
    Lax? As in relaxed?

    Anyone else have any info on Wachovia? I'm thinking about going with them...
    Yeah, relaxed. Not really in a bad way, just more laid-back. It still took some work for me to get info out of them, they're just not the iron fortress that Wells Fargo is. I'd bank with Wachovia, no problem.
    \

  16. #16
    BrunetteGoddess
    Guest

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    Um, I would think it'd be safer to have a bank that's like an "iron fortress" to get information, especially when you're dealing with my money and personal info.

  17. #17
    God/dess kitty260's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Winterpeg, Manitoba
    Posts
    2,042
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts

    Default Re: No Branches of my Bank in my new town!

    It's a sad but true story that the privacy laws in the United States are a lot more relaxed in general then they are in Canada, hence why my company didn't bother with Canadian customers. Basically, anyone can find out anything about anybody in that country. The banks were really no different. How easily I could find stuff out about a person's account depended totally on the bank/branch/person I was talking to. All I needed to do was give the person's name and social number and they'd tell me anything I wanted to know. I was just saying that there were only three banks I ever dealt with that demanded I identify myself, my company and give a detailed explanation of why I needed the information that I did. Once they found out it was collections, they were usually more then happy to help.
    \

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 27
    Last Post: 10-18-2012, 05:11 AM
  2. Replies: 4
    Last Post: 06-19-2011, 02:21 PM
  3. Bank Teller Position at my bank..
    By Xiomara in forum Other Work
    Replies: 25
    Last Post: 11-08-2008, 12:08 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •